Bodek Lounge was decked with fuchsia streamers and balloons last night as Wharton Women hosted its annual event, Dressing for Success: Professional in Pink.
The event kicks off the group’s calendar for the rest of the year, combining a fun night of free food with conversation about fashion in the workplace. The keynote speech was followed by panels of students and J. Crew representatives expanding on the theme of the event, as well as by makeup tutorials by Saks Fifth Avenue.
“The event’s mission is to empower women to dress professionally but also express their femininity,” Kelsey Gliva , Wharton senior and president of Wharton Women, said. The organization partnered for its third year with Career Wardrobe, an organization dedicated to helping Philadelphia women who are on public assistance transition into the workplace through clothing and career skills. All proceeds of the event, raised by donations and raffle tickets, will be donated to Career Wardrobe.
The event organizers hoped that the attendees would learn that professionalism and fashion are not mutually exclusive.
“You can wear something feminine, yet appropriate, and this event really shows you how you can do that,” Amanda Russoniello, Wharton junior and vice president of Philanthropy of Wharton Women, said.
Keynote speaker Christina Lila Wilson, a project manager for New York Fashion Tech Lab , spoke to the group about the relationship between fashion, technology and entrepreneurship.
Russoniello said they had picked Wilson as the keynote speaker because the relationship between tech and fashion is “really of the moment, and we felt like a lot of girls could really relate to that because tech and fashion — that’s a cool mix.”
Although the event centered on the topic of fashion in a business setting, the room had the air of a party.
As Wharton freshman Emily Jiang said, “A lot of it is just having a good time.”
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